We all agree with Dave Seminara in the Chicago Tribune that something has to be done about the immigration problem. In 1986, the Reagan Administration kicked the can down the road by giving amnesty to all illegal immigrants who were here before 1979 while doing nothing to address the problem in the long term so that it would not happen again. That was a typical American solution -- if we can't agree, then kick the can down the road for as long as possible in the hopes that someone else would figure out how to solve the problem.
Unfortunately, what Seminara chooses to do is rely on the rhetoric and data from a right-wing hate group. The Center for Immigration Studies, whom Seminara chooses to rely on, was founded by John Tanton, a known racist who associates with white nationalists and holocaust deniers. That, in and of itself, is a grave disservice to all the millions of Americans who risked their lives during World War II to protect the world from Hitler, Mussolini, and the Japanese Empire. We know this sounds harsh to people. But as a responsible media outlet, we have to tell it like it is. And when the corporate media refuses to report facts that are easily available through a simple Google search, we will report such facts.
The CIS, of course, will churn out study after study claiming to back their "facts." However, on a personal note, my mother worked for a TV survey firm one time where she had to interview respondants about their TV watching habits. Half of them responded that they did not watch TV because there was nothing good on. However, the firm that she worked for threw out the data because it was not convenient for their purposes. This is how certain groups that are outside the mainstream try to give their views a thin veneer of respectability -- give themselves neutral sounding names, do study after study, and conveniently ignore data that does not fit their claims.
One of the main problems with our society is certain corporate and governmental and political interests who try all they can to control our lives. Together, they comprise the modern Big Brother. This is one of Big Brother's favorite propaganda techniques -- control every aspect of our lives with more and more work, rules, and regulations, and then turn around and tell us who we are supposed to be afraid of. Father Knows Best.
We all agree that the immigration system is broken. The way it is set up now, people like you and me who want to work hard and play by the rules cannot get in while the terrorists who want to destroy our way of life like the 9/11 bombers can. My common sense goals would be allowing people who want to start businesses here in this country and people who want to start a new life with their families in while keeping the terrorists out. Unfortunately, there are too many powerful special interests who are totally happy with the status quo. Certain powerful corporations can drive down wages by hiring illegal immigrants; after all, they cannot complain of their treatment or they will be reported and sent right back to Mexico. And certain powerful political interests are happy because they can keep us in bondage by telling us who we are supposed to be afraid of. And certain powerful government interests are happy because they can dream up more and more hoops for hardworking people to jump through that criminals won't. The end result is 11 million people living in legal limbo with no easy way out of their situation.
We do not have all the answers, but one thing we do know is that we are a lot more worried about a government setting up a police state than we are of people who simply want to work hard and play by the rules. Our families all (unless we are Native Americans) were immigrants to this land at one time or another. The children of Israel were told in the Old Testament to show hospitality to strangers because they were strangers wandering in the desert at one point. There is plenty of room for debate on how to go about fixing our broken immigration system. Unfortunately, relying on propaganda from groups that are outside the mainstream is never going to solve our problems.
No comments:
Post a Comment